Peruse Chevrolet’s February sales release, and you’ll notice one number that’s blatantly missing: the number of Chevy Volts sold. The number – a very modest 281 – is available in the company’s detailed data (PDF), but it certainly isn’t something that GM wants to highlight, apparently. Keeping the number quiet is a bit understandable, since it’s lower than the 321 that Chevy sold in January…

Ouch. The big questions, of course, revolve around one word: “Why?” Is ramping up production and deliveries still a problem? Is demand weak? Are unscrupulous dealers to blame? When will sales start to climb? And what are these numbers doing to plug-in vehicle work at other automakers?

Nissan has sold 173 Leafs in two months; Megan McArdle notes that, back in November, its CEO was projecting sales of 500,000 per year by 2013.

Consumer Reports reviewed the Volt recently as part of its annual car issue but their analysis is behind a reg wall. Try this write-up in the Detroit News instead, or watch the video below of an editor groaning about the sticker price on Fox Business. They paid $48,700 for their test ride and lamented, among other things, the fact that it takes fully five hours to charge the damned thing. Verdict: “This is going to be a tough sell to the average consumer.” No kidding.

Chevy’s only hope now? Saudi Arabia’s “day of rage” next Friday blossoms into a full-fledged Wahhabist revolution, with oil sales to the west embargoed indefinitely thereafter. $15 per gallon gas, here we come.

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Despite his criticism of the Volt, Champion praised its acceleration and acknowledged that under certain driving cycles, consumers could mostly avoid using gasoline. The magazine noted the Volt is nicely equipped and has a “taut yet supple ride.”

But AllahP said:

Why wouldn’t someone want to own a $41,000 electric car that under some circumstances gets worse mileage than a Prius?

“When you are looking at purely dollars and cents, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense. The Volt isn’t particularly efficient as an electric vehicle and it’s not particularly good as a gas vehicle either in terms of fuel economy,” said David Champion, the senior director of Consumer Reports auto testing center at a meeting with reporters here. “This is going to be a tough sell to the average consumer.”

It isn’t particularly efficient as an electric vehicle???

The Leaf is rated 98 mpge (mpg equivalent) by the EPA on the window sticker. EPA gives the Volt 93 mpge in its EV mode. So in EV mode, that makes the Volt 95 % as efficient as the Leaf, and it’s carrying with it the gas drive train that ensures one will never be left stranded, like this type of situation…

Why would someone buy an Apple cell phone — what’s it called, an i-Phone? — for over $900 ?
I couldn’t and wouldn’t have… but I’m glad somebody did, because now I have one that’s much better for $200 and a signature on a service plan.

I HATE clown cars. Those “Smart” ones, and cubed ones. Look like my dog can drive it. Or my kids. My dog takes a full passenger seat in the minivan and does activate the passenger airbag with her weight.

What you wrote, and that purchasing a car towards fall when the new units roll up for example, 2012. does that happen sometimes on quarters?

The awesome thing about Honda is that they believe in their product so much, they don’t care what car dealer you purchased it from. To them, you own a Honda and that’s what matters to car salesmen. My jaw dropped.

In over 1500 miles of driving my Volt. I have stopped at the gas station just once. This was to add air to the tires. The car was delivered with 8.2 gallons of gas. Still have 6 gallons of dealer gas remaining after 1594 miles of driving.

1595 / 2.2 = 724mpg

It feels great to refuel at home. How much time has been saved by not having to pull off the freeway to refuel? How much tension has been avoided by not having to compete at the gas station pumps? How much satisfaction has been realized by not having to send my paycheck to an OPEC county?

Go out and buy a Volt.

We’ve been waiting for this chance for 40, 50 years.
Driving without gasoline is a good thing.
Equally much so if you don’t believe in AGW theory, which is just relatively recent fashionable belief…
It’s good news !
American invented and designed…
American made…
American fueled !

__ Government Motors makes socialist car that everyone hates and is completely ignored?

__ In 2006, GM began, with the creative leadership of a visionary vice-chairman and some brilliant engineers, began a gutsy, entrepreneurial and risky project that ended up sending almost every other major automaker in the world back to the drawing board to remap their own futures?

Won’t have anything to do with Government Motors ’til jug-ears get’s his greedy little gov’ment fingers out of their purse, the Board of Directors is replaced, and the Union Contracts are re-negotiated.

In other words….they’ll go bankrupt before I ever buy another GM vehicle.

Reality: GM began work on the Volt in 2006, long before the financial crisis and the government assistance that saved the company. The presidential auto task force wanted GM to scrap the project, because the Volt won’t make money for at least the first few years. GM convinced the government the technology was too important, and that the Volt had to go on.

Obama did NOT make GM build this car…
On the contrary, GM shielded this car from the task force, because they knew the government didn’t understand how important to the company, and all of us, it was.

In other words….they’ll go bankrupt before I ever buy another GM vehicle.

Tim_CA on March 3, 2011 at 11:57 PM

There will be more choices: Volvo just announced production intent on plug-in hybrid V60 with 50 km (31 mi) of range.
Ford will be going with the C-Max Energi, a plug-in hybrid with a battery the same size as a Volt.
And many others, believe me.
And the prices will be coming down, lithium-ion cells already have.

Now:

Did Government Motors, under government pressure, make a socialist car that nobody wants and is completely ignored?

Or did a visionary vice-chairman (Bob Lutz), who in previous lives brought about the Dodge Viper, the BMW 3-series (80s yuppies) and the Ford Explorer (which ushered in the SUV era)… did he want to compete with Toyota Prius and Tesla Roadster not by me-too-ism but by completely leapfrogging them… did he trust the ideas of his brilliant engineers (Jon Lauckner) and champion and launch a bold, gutsy, risky — entrepreneurial, essentially — project that forced almost every other major automaker back to their own drawing boards to redraw the maps of their own futures…

A few years after selling the side business, she decided to dive into racing full time, moving to Dale Earnhardt’s North Carolina racing world to work as a consultant. Fletcher stayed in North Carolina after Earnhardt’s death in 2001, but by 2005, she was ready to come home.
“I terribly missed the mainstream auto industry,” she said. “There is nothing that compares to the scale and scope of what we work on.”
Back at GM, Fletcher worked with hybrids until 2009, when she became powertrain chief for plug-in hybrids and extended-range electric vehicles, including the Chevrolet Volt.
The Volt’s development engineers work out of a former storage room over a massive garage at the automaker’s Milford Proving Grounds. Their desks are relatively bare, because they spend much of their time driving. But on the side of one cubicle wall is a printout of a photo of Bob Lutz chomping on a cigar. Underneath are the letters “WWBD” — for “What Would Bob Do?”
The retired product development chief helped spearhead the development of the Volt in hopes that it would anchor Chevrolet’s image with customers, just as he’d done with the Dodge Viper about two decades earlier. In the Viper, Michiganders gave the world a beloved V-10 sports car. In the Volt, they’ve made one of the country’s first mass-market electric vehicles. That’s a difference Fletcher and several other hybrid and electric engineers — transplants from GM’s former high-performance unit — understand firsthand.
“The Volt was developed by the same people that have developed other products for GM. But this time, we have demonstrated our technical prowess,” Fletcher said. “Maybe we haven’t tried to create these iconic demonstrations so much before.”
Now that the car’s U.S. launch is well under way, Fletcher, 44, spends much of her time driving cars calibrated for the Volt’s European launch this year as the Opel Ampera. A laptop and a mass of blue and red cables and black tubing connect engineers to a development Volt’s electronic equipment, allowing them to make tweaks and experience them on the road.

And your Bob Lutz bit is fine so long as you listen to Ron Bloom (Obama’s Car Czar) from March 2010, a few months before the Volt’s release:

“They’re not getting my input, but they are very, very good about keeping me up to date about what’s happening. If it’s small, they tell me after, but we’re very much aware of what GM is doing, because as a shareholder, we need to be. I like to understand [Whitacre's] thinking, so I can convey it to the people who sort of are more directly, ultimately the decision-makers here” — Geithner and chief White House economic advisor Larry Summers.”

Chevy’s only hope now? Saudi Arabia’s “day of rage” next Friday blossoms into a full-fledged Wahhabist revolution, with oil sales to the west embargoed indefinitely thereafter. $15 per gallon gas, here we come.

Aside from the price, the practicality and mileage claims, IMHO the volt is not a particularly attractive automobile. One would think the styling would be more distinctive and better reflect the new technology. You look at this car and say “eh“.

Obama did NOT make GM build this car…
On the contrary, GM shielded this car from the task force, because they knew the government didn’t understand how important to the company, and all of us, it was.

silverfox on March 4, 2011 at 12:20 AM

And of course I’m supposed to take GM at its word about this.
Just like I was supposed to take them at their word about turning a profit so quickly after the bailout (but pay no attention to those TARP $$$$ behind the curtain!!!)

On the contrary, GM shielded this car from the task force, because they knew the government didn’t understand how important to the company, and all of us, it was.

silverfox on March 4, 2011 at 12:20 AM

Except for the part where this happened before the takeover:

Part of the President’s Task Force on Autos including Steve Rattner and Ron Bloom visited both GM and Chrysler today.

They spent most of the morning at GM’s Warren Technical Center where the Chevy Volt development takes place. They were personally greeted by GM CEO Rick Wagoner, and each of the men got to drive one of two Chevy Volt mules

…having this integral knowledge about the Volt will help them make the difficult decisions

Electric cars are supposed to be good for the environment by cutting back on fossil fuel consumption, which also should have emissions benefits.

Let’s see how that works:

I buy an electric car and slap my “Love your Mother” bumper sticker on with singular pride. But, in order to get that car to my drive, the GM had to buy and install a lot of batteries to hold the charge. Mining, premanufacturing and production, use and disposal of car batteries is one of the most pollution generating life cycles in existence. So, my happy little Volt was actually delivered to me with a bigger environmental foot print than a Suburban.

Now I plug it in for the first time, lovely green electricity flows to me from coal-burning power plants (the backbone of our power grid), with wee trickles from hydro, nuclear and all others (y’know the supposedly green ones).

I keep the car for a few years, looking down my long nose at those heathen b******ds driving their SUVs, confident I am loving my mother better, all the while my environmental footprint is growing from the size of saskwatch to godzilla.

I will never buy a GM or Chrysler car. They have lost me forever as a customer because of the bailout. (As to the Volt, I look forward to the articles about battery life in the real world, fights with GM to get battery replacements under warranty, and a new line entry on GM’s accounting books for a reserve against such warranties.)

In over 1500 miles of driving my Volt. I have stopped at the gas station just once. This was to add air to the tires. The car was delivered with 8.2 gallons of gas. Still have 6 gallons of dealer gas remaining after 1594 miles of driving.

1595 / 2.2 = 724mpg

It feels great to refuel at home. How much time has been saved by not having to pull off the freeway to refuel? How much tension has been avoided by not having to compete at the gas station pumps? How much satisfaction has been realized by not having to send my paycheck to an OPEC county?

How’s your electric bill these days, and what will it be during peak A/C hours next July?

Unless you have nuclear or hydro power, fuel is burned to power your Volt and make volts times amperes. Maybe not in your back yard.

I will never buy a GM or Chrysler car. They have lost me forever as a customer because of the bailout. (As to the Volt, I look forward to the articles about battery life in the real world, fights with GM to get battery replacements under warranty, and a new line entry on GM’s accounting books for a reserve against such warranties.)

Over50 on March 4, 2011 at 9:21 AM

My 1999 Tahoe blows out its battery every two years. Mechanic never could figure out why this happens. Battery brand makes no difference. Now I buy batteries with 3 year warranties from AAA. The battery blows, they come out, drop a new one in and I’m on my way.

He should have mentioned the poor heater output. ‘Cold hands and feet’… And in a winter like we’ve just seen much reduced range on the electric only part of the cycle.
-
No specifics in this report, just a blah blah… be the first but accept some bugs to … be the first. Over priced, but pay the price to over pay… Way better options available… but if gas prices go up enough compared to electricity prices (which are also expected to rise)… then having paid the near double price tag to be first to own one might work out later to not be nearly as bad… or not…
-
Like everything Obarry touches… A Zoo of Vagueness and Pricey.
-

What principle is that? “The “Poor Trillions of Dollars to the
Funders of Islamic Extremism Principle”? Every 25 cents that gasoline goes up, its another $3 Billion American dollars ‘pumped’ over to Saudi Arabia.

In other words….they’ll go bankrupt before I ever buy another GM vehicle.

Tim_CA on March 3, 2011 at 11:57 PM
There will be more choices: Volvo just announced production intent on plug-in hybrid V60 with 50 km (31 mi) of range.
Ford will be going with the C-Max Energi, a plug-in hybrid with a battery the same size as a Volt.
And many others, believe me.
And the prices will be coming down, lithium-ion cells already have.

Now:

Did Government Motors, under government pressure, make a socialist car that nobody wants and is completely ignored?

Or did a visionary vice-chairman (Bob Lutz), who in previous lives brought about the Dodge Viper, the BMW 3-series (80s yuppies) and the Ford Explorer (which ushered in the SUV era)… did he want to compete with Toyota Prius and Tesla Roadster not by me-too-ism but by completely leapfrogging them… did he trust the ideas of his brilliant engineers (Jon Lauckner) and champion and launch a bold, gutsy, risky — entrepreneurial, essentially — project that forced almost every other major automaker back to their own drawing boards to redraw the maps of their own futures…

silverfox on March 4, 2011 at 12:38 AM

ROTFLMAO!!! “Leapfrogging??? It takes 7 hours to charge!! It can then go maybe 40 miles. It often get’s WORSE mileage than a similarly equipped Prius!! When running on battery – it essentially runs on coal-fired power-plants!! Leapfrogging indeed!

The Volt is poorly positioned in the market place. GM shouldn’t have designed it to be so expensive. They should never have designed a dual drive train.

That being said, I love the concept of electric drive train vehicles. I know that battery issues still exist, but it really is our best hope to becoming energy independent.

The electrical grid needs to be powered by new nuclear and clean coal plants. The cars need to be designed more for poor commuting needs rather than for families. The charging engine should use natural gas instead of gasoline, and a solar cell should be placed on the roof for supplemental charging while owners are parked outside at work.

Power generators need to believe that increased electrical demand will be there before they invest billions to increase grid capacity.

The President of the US could certainly take steps to reduce the risk of this investment, but the free market still rules the day. The bottom line is that if demand projections were robust and supported new capacity then such capacity would be built – unicorns in pajamas aren’t necessary.

Why would I pay $41,000 for a car that can get an average of 40 miles per charge? Because I support my President and his example set by the Stimulus Bill where it cost American taxpayers $270,000 per job to create $50,000 a year jobs. Barack Obama, setting the bar for stupidity a whole lot higher.

Tim_CA on March 4, 2011 at 2:16 PM
Power generators need to believe that increased electrical demand will be there before they invest billions to increase grid capacity.

The President of the US could certainly take steps to reduce the risk of this investment, but the free market still rules the day. The bottom line is that if demand projections were robust and supported new capacity then such capacity would be built – unicorns in pajamas aren’t necessary.

blink on March 4, 2011 at 2:47 PM

Gosh yer smart….and here I thought that an administration that is openly hostile to coal and has purposely never given nuclear a serious look….might not allow that to happen by making permits impossible to obtain and drowning the applicants in red tape.

Guess I was wrong and you were right given all of the “clean coal” and “nuclear plants” curretnly under construction and being pushed by OBummer……..oh wait.

Enviromentalists and politicians don’t understand our cars aren’t just transportation, they’re FREEDOM. I can go out to my Camry drive 300+ miles fill up in a matter of minutes and do it all over again. I may not do that all the time,but if I wanted to I could. Until the electric car gets that ability it will be a market niche car.

Gosh yer smart….and here I thought that an administration that is openly hostile to coal and has purposely never given nuclear a serious look….might not allow that to happen by making permits impossible to obtain and drowning the applicants in red tape.

Guess I was wrong and you were right given all of the “clean coal” and “nuclear plants” curretnly under construction and being pushed by OBummer……..oh wait.

Grow-up genius – ain’t gonna happen under Barry’s watch.

Tim_CA on March 4, 2011 at 3:11 PM

Tell me what generation plants, which currently have investor backing, are being denied permits.

Gosh yer smart….and here I thought that an administration that is openly hostile to coal and has purposely never given nuclear a serious look….might not allow that to happen by making permits impossible to obtain and drowning the applicants in red tape.

Guess I was wrong and you were right given all of the “clean coal” and “nuclear plants” curretnly under construction and being pushed by OBummer……..oh wait.

Grow-up genius – ain’t gonna happen under Barry’s watch.

Tim_CA on March 4, 2011 at 3:11 PM
Tell me what generation plants, which currently have investor backing, are being denied permits.

blink on March 5, 2011 at 2:00 AM

Too lazy to use Google my real smart friend? Too bad – there’s only like 90,000 hits on the subject. Here are a couple for your enjoyment:

What is truly sad about this car is that Obama wants 1 million electric cars. So much so that the Volt is subsidized $7500 per unit. I really do not know if all electric vehicles are subsidized this amount but if that were true it would cost the american taxpayer 75 billion dollars.

Where is the electric power needed to fuel these cars and how much does it cost? Obama and this administration is doing all it can to STOP energy production. Obama wants to bankrupt a huge portion of the electricity producing companies (coal). He, Obama wants to stop the source of fossil fuels to other electricity producing companies (oil and natural gas). He, Obama has not and will not move forward on uranium or thorium reactors.

Starting to see a pattern smart guy? You really need a new hero – and you might want to educate yourself a tad before ya spout off.

Just Sayin’.

Tim_CA on March 5, 2011 at 3:57 AM

You need to provide more links. Two of those links involve the state of Alaska deciding to delay their request for a permit. One involves a permit being delayed by the state of Michigan, and the other one is a non-clean coal plant still in the comment process with EPA.